The invention relates to a surgical instrument for applying C-shaped ligating clips having two juxtaposed legs which are joined to each other by a bridge portion and are each divided by a longitudinal slot into two juxtaposed portions joined to each other at the free end of the legs, the surgical instrument comprising two juxtaposed clamping jaws with guiding surfaces facing each other for the legs of a ligating clip that lie against the guiding surfaces when the ligating clip is inserted between the clamping jaws.
In such surgical instruments, ligating clips are mostly advanced in the distal direction out of a cartridge arranged in a shaft in which they lie in a row one behind the other, and the respective foremost ligating clip is pushed out of the cartridge in between the clamping jaws until the ligating clip is in a foremost applying position. In this position, the ligating clip can be applied to a vessel or some other piece of tissue and then closed by the two clamping jaws being brought close together. The legs of the ligating clip are thereby bent towards each other.
It is important for the ligating clips to maintain their position between the clamping jaws during the applying and closing procedure. For this reason, it is known to provide retaining projections on the cartridge, which fix the ligating clips in the advanced applying position. Such fixing is, however, not possible if the applying position is located at a large spacing from the cartridge.
The object of the invention is to so construct a generic surgical instrument that specifically for ligating clips which are divided into two portions and have a longitudinal slot, a secure positioning of the ligating clip in the foremost applying position is achievable.